


Just...Keep It

by BlueMotherLion3124



Series: Merthur Week 2021 [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Episode: s04e06 A Servant of Two Masters, Evil Morgana (Merlin), Kidnapped Merlin (Merlin), Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), SEASON 4 THEORY BABY, merthur is sort of on the back burner but still there, or you know before any established relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 00:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30114054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMotherLion3124/pseuds/BlueMotherLion3124
Summary: An ambush of bandits, all burly and ready to take down the poor frail traveler who thought to come near the valley. Unfortunately for them, this frail traveler knew magic, and knew magic well.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Week 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2212737
Comments: 12
Kudos: 55
Collections: Merthur Week 2021





	Just...Keep It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [camelotsheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/camelotsheart/gifts).



> If you don't know the [season 4 theory](https://camelotsheart.tumblr.com/post/640249250177007616/merlin-s4-plot-changes) made by the lovely camelotsheart then you're missing out. Basically this fic is inspired by it and some spirals we had in the dms 💖💖💖
> 
> I love you Rumi! This is for you🥰
> 
> Day 3 Prompt: “We’re meant to be on the same side.” “We’ve never been on the same side”

The woods were cold and the ground was damp when Merlin woke up. It seems it rained overnight, but thankfully, he had the foresight to enchant his tent to be resistant to rainfall. He pat himself on the back for doing the same thing to the fire outside his tent because his clothes were frail and the wind gave him no mercy.

Merlin didn’t find it very ideal to stay in these parts of the woods, but he was still exhausted from yesterday. Although, he had been exhausted for a long time. It just seemed like his body is finally catching up to his mind.

Before he allowed his mind to wander further, Merlin pulled out the one piece that always seemed to calm him down. The sigil is heavy in his hands. He still didn’t understand why he held on to it after all this time. He should have given it back sooner. He should have tried harder when Arthur had refused to take it back that first time.

_“Arthur, it’s from your mother. I can’t...keep something like this.”_

_“I gave it to you, Merlin,” Arthur said softly. “Consider it a gift.”_

_He was looking out the window that showcases the courtyard. It was a regular day in Camelot. The weather was lovely with the sun shining through. There was a distant echo from the people out in the courtyard doing their daily tasks._

_Merlin held the sigil tightly in his hands. It feels slightly heavy but it anchors him in a way. Steadied him as he watched Arthur’s form tense then relax then turn to him._

_“Keep it.”_

_So Merlin did._

The seal on it was beautiful. The bird at the center (Merlin assumes it’s a dove, but with how much the sigil seemed to have been held long before Merlin possessed it, it was hard to tell) with its wings open like it was in mid-flight. Merlin couldn't help but hold onto it a little longer. Just enough to quell his aching heart.

_This wasn’t how he wanted this to go. This wasn’t how any of it was supposed to go._

_“Arthur please listen to me.”_

_Merlin can hear himself beg. He sounded desperate. It was pathetic really, but what other choice did he have?_

_“Lancelot--” He could feel his throat close up at that. And to think he onced hoped it wasn’t true despite the glaring facts in front of him. “--that, he isn’t Lancelot! Not the one we know. Not the one we…”_

_Merlin couldn't bear to finish that sentence. It hurt too much to say out loud, but it was true. The Lancelot he loved and cared for was long gone._

_“And how would you know?” Arthur demanded._

_The new king was tense but mostly broken. It was only hours ago when both of them learned that Lancelot was working with Morgana. It was only minutes ago when they had time to fully process what they saw._

_Merlin reached into his pocket and felt the calming metal. He held on to it tight before looking at his friend._

Oh Arthur, _he couldn’t help but think when seeing how distraught Arthur looked. He was pale and probably two seconds away from emptying his stomach. That wasn’t the worst part. No, the worst was seeing his dear friend silently beg for Merlin to give him answers that Merlin barely has. Answers Merlin fears will only worsen this situation._

_He decided to play it safe._

_“Lancelot..._ our _Lancelot knew a deep secret of mine that this one has forgotten.”_

_Arthur chuckled darkly at that._

_“Merlin,” he said with a hint of mirth, but there’s fear in his eyes, “what on earth could you be hiding that only someone like Lancelot would know?”_

_Merlin kept quiet, and Arthur picked up on his change in mood._

_“Merlin, what are you hiding from me?”_

Noon was quickly approaching and Merlin doesn’t plan to stay here any longer than necessary. Nothing good ever happened in the Valley of the Fallen Kings.

Merlin was so close to leaving its borders when it happened. 

An ambush of bandits, all burly and ready to take down the poor frail traveler who thought to come near the valley. Unfortunately for them, this frail traveler knew magic, and knew magic well. 

It wasn’t hard to disarm them. Even easier now that he wasn’t hiding behind any trees and trying to keep the magic a secret. All it took was a strong gust of wind, and the bandits went flying. Satisfied, Merlin fixed up his bag and made his way out of the valley, but he let his guard down.

He didn’t notice the dark figure behind him. He didn’t until after the spell was cast.

* * *

  
  


He woke up to a dingy hovel. At least, he thought it was a hovel. Hovel or not, it was dingy. And dark.

And a complete mess.

His arms were held above him tied fairly well and already, he could feel the ache from hanging above the floor. The back of his neck stung from a cut he doesn’t remember receiving. Behind him, Merlin could hear a cauldron bubble while in front of his was a table full of assorted tools and plants. He wasn’t given much time to look over the rest of the place since the door to the side opened and in walked Morgana.

“It seems you decided to match your attire with the house.”

“And what attire is that?”

Morgana shut the door that followed with a bang. Her hair was messier than a rat’s nest, and her face had seen better days. Her clothes, however, do have at least _some_ up keep in them, but barely.

“Oh you know, one that says 'I’ve gone mad and live in a hovel.' Such a downgrade to before.”

She growled and stalked up to him.

“You don’t get to talk to me about downgrades,” she hissed. “What with Arthur exiling you and all.”

“You don’t know _anything.”_

Morgana hummed and gave a sickly sweet smile. It was reminiscent of the bright smiles she once gave, and something in Merlin breaks.

“You’re right,” she said, sighing, “and whose fault is that?”

Merlin grit his teeth. She was just trying to get a rise out of him. Merlin knew that everything that happened between him and Morgana wasn’t his fault. Wasn’t his sole fault. There were other factors at play. But the accusation still hurt. It was an accusation Merlin (when the nights are too dark, too quiet) couldn't help but agree with sometimes.

“Morgana--”

“ _No._ You don’t get to _Mor-gana_ me anymore!” She grabbed his chin and yanked it down to her eye level. He could feel his arms strain and his neck ache at the harsh grab. Her nails bit into his skin and Merlin couldn’t help but wince in pain. 

“All this time,” she muttered. Then her voice got louder. “All this fucking time, and you let me fend for myself!”

“That’s not true, Morga--”

“Shut it!”

She let go of him and moved towards the table. He heard her mutter more about how he left her behind. How he abandoned his kin, and Merlin is too exhausted to tell her how wrong that was. A tiny part of him agreed and whispered more things he'd abandoned, more things Merlin had turned away from for the sake of destiny. Merlin does his best to ignore that too.

She picked up something flat and round. From where he was, he couldn’t discern what exactly Morgana held in her hand, but she had an ugly glint in her eyes. As she walked back to him, he figured out what she was holding.

Arthur’s sigil.

“Recognize this don’t you?” Morgana almost preened, but Merlin wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. All of his focus is on the precious seal she held in her hands. 

“Course you would keep something like this,” she sneered. “What with your strange attachment to him and everything.”

Merlin tried his best to steady his breathing while he watched Morgana playfully toss the sigil from one hand to the other. Every time she threw it up in the air, Merlin could feel his insides screaming. 

“I’m surprised you got away with stealing such a valuable item,” she taunted.

Merlin grit his teeth. The sigil looked the same as it did the last time he saw it, but for some reason, it looked wrong for it to be held in Morgana’s hands.

“I didn’t steal it,” Merlin said, struggling with his bonds. Morgana raises an eyebrow, but let’s him continue. “It was a gift.”

Immediately, Morgana’s mocking smile fell off and her demeanor changed to a dangerous one. She turned away and went back to the table, placing the sigil back on the wood.

“You know,” she started, eyes scanning the table for something else, “I’ve always wondered why you’re so loyal to him. You having magic only confuses me more. Are we not kin, Merlin?”

Merlin chose not to answer her. Morgana scoffed and continued scanning the table until her eyes fell on an ornate box. Holding it in her hands, she looked back to Merlin with crazed determination. 

“And yet--” She was coming back again, and Merlin heard a faint hiss from the box. He eyed it wearily. “--you are loyal to a man who would rather see your kin be burned, pillaged, hanged.”

“It seems you’re confused,” Merlin snapped back. “That would be Uther, not Arthur.”

“What the difference? They’re both Pendragons! All they know is how to main and harm.”

“Aren’t you a Pendragon as well?”

Morgana’s face contorted into something dark, and she screamed. She slashed her nails across his cheek and Merlin could feel something warm trickle down his face.

The box hissed again, and Morgana’s face softens. She opened it and cooed at whatever was inside. It was a snake, and there seems to be many of them. Morgana moved the box closer and no, it was not multiple snakes. It was one snake with multiple heads, and that did not give Merlin any peace of mind.

“They’re called Fomorroh,” Moraga cooed and the creature hissed again. She looked back at Merlin and pouted mockingly at him. “You know, we can still be allies Merlin. We’re meant to be on the same side.”

Merlin thought back to Morgana and the fear she had for her magic. He thought back to her siding with Morgause and disappearing with her. He thought of Morgana, ready to kill her dearest friend a year before. He thought of Arthur and how heartbroken he had looked when he discovered her betrayal. How heartbroken he had looked learning that the Lancelot who had returned was a shade. How broken Arthur had looked when Merlin told him the truth about himself.

“We’ve never been on the same side,” he whispered sadly. 

Morgana nodded as if that answered all of her questions and cut one of the many heads off of the Fomorroh. The creature hissed but settled when a new head grew in the lost one’s stead. 

“If you’re going to kill me, might as well and get it over with. Save us all the trouble.”

Morgana laughed darkly and shook her head.

“Oh silly Merlin,” she chuckled, “I have something far worse planned.”

She grabbed his neck, and the pain caused him to cry out. Then, he felt something scaly burrow its way into his neck, and he started screaming. Everything feels hot and Merlin struggles fruitlessly.

As the world fades, he felt a gentle finger lift his chin up and a hollow laugh.

“Now, I want you to do something for me, okay Merlin?” the sweet voice said. Everything was getting blurry and dark, but he could still hear the voice when she gave her command.

“I want you to kill Arthur for me. Understood?”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering which part of the theory I'm basing this on, it's [this](https://camelotsheart.tumblr.com/post/640639675766358016/camelotsheart-after-merlins-banishment-following) one.
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all like it! Leave a kudos and/or comment if you did!


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